Improvement in track-clearers



J. W. HUDGES. Track-Clearers.

N0 157 3.97, Patented`Dec.v1,1874.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEo JOSEPH W. HODGES, OF GRAND RAPIDS, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRACK-CLEARERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,397, dated December l, 1874,' application filed October 28, 1874. 4

To all whom 'it may concern: able material, and having its outer lower Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. HODGES, of corner formed with shoulders b b, so as to fit Grand Rapids, in the county of Vood and or nearly fit the top and inner side ofthe rail. State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new To the beam O is attached a lever, G, by and useful Improvements in Snow-Scrapers for means of which the beam is turned on its Railroad Hand-Gars; and I do hereby declare pivot to raise the scraper up from the track. that the following is a full, clear, and exact The upper inner corner of the scraper D is by description thereof, which will enable others a rod, d, connected with the end of the bed A, skilled in the art to which it pertains to make as shown. The flanges on car-Wheels are genand use the same, reference being had to the erally from two to two and a half inches wide, accompanying drawings, and to the letters of and by adjusting the scraper, say, about one reference marked thereon, which form a part or one anda half inch from the ties, it will of this specification. take the snow out sufficiently deep enough to The nature of my invention consists inthe clear the ange of the wheel, thereby preeonstrnction and arrangement of a snowventing the snow from packing and becoming scraper to be attached to a hand-car for ice, which, after several snow-storms, will be cleaning' the top and inner sides of the rails collie so hard that the Wheel Will run on the from snow, as Will be hereinafter more fully ice instead of the rail, and if there happens set forth. to be a low joint the wheel may run ott' the In the accompanying drawing', Figure l reprail and cause serious loss to life and property. resents a top view of a device embodying my Having thus fully described my invention, invention, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the what I claim as new, and desire to secnre by same. Letters Patent, is

A represents the bed, and B B the wheels, The combination, with a handcar, A B, of of a hand-car, which may be constructed in the pivoted beam O with notch x and lever G, any of the known and usual Ways. On each the pin a, scraper D, and connecting-rod d, all side ot' the bed A, near the rear end, is pivsubstantially as and for the purposes herein oted a beam, O, the rear end of which is curved set forth. somewhat in the shape of an ordinary plow- In testimony that I claim the foregoing asV beam. At the front end, on the upper side or my own I atlix my signature in presence of 1 edge of the beam O, is a notch, w, to ft around two Witnesses.

a pin, a, in the side of the beam A, to hold JOSEPH W. HODGES. Y

the scraper at a certain height and prevent it Witnesses:

from settling down any farther. D represents OSCAR TAYLOR, the scraper, made of boiler-iron or other suit- H. B. HARDIN. 

